Late strikes from Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay brought an end to Arsenal’s incredible home Champions League record.
With 15 minutes remaining and the scores level, the predatory Huntelaar blasted past Vito Mannone before a swift counter attack saw Jefferson Farfan cross perfectly for the impressive Affelay to seal an incredible win for the German side.
The two Dutch Schalke scorers celebrting the all important first goal
The three points was the perfect end to a brilliant week for Schalke, whom won away to Borussia Dortmund domestically on Saturday, and they now find themselves in pole position to top the group.
In truth Arsenal were poor throughout, and for a second successive match they struggled to break down their opponents, with the usual classy Santi Cazorla quiet.
In a game of very few chances Arsenal’s only shot on target was registered in injury time, meaning Arsenal will have to improve in a fortnight’s time in the Gelsenkerchen otherwise they face the realistic prospect of an early exit.
Following the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas
last Summer transfer window, the news that club captain Robin Van Persie wasn’t
going to extend his current contract came as no real surprise to most Gunners. However
this season Arsene Wenger has dived into the market impressively, and more
importantly early, with the additions of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, before
pulling off arguably the biggest transfer coup of the summer with the arrival
of the classy Santi Cazorla from troubled Malaga.
Can Cazorla guide Arsenal to the top of the league?
Twice Arsenal turned their season around impressively
(Losing four of their opening seven as well as a poor run in January) and only
a minor hiccup towards the end of the season meant they needed victory on the
final day of the season to secure the all important third spot, which they duly did away to West Brom. Wenger's current squad seems
to have more mental strength about it, after previously bottling it in either
a title race or in a cup final, and instead of being caught, found themselves
successfully hunting down their target last season as they ended the season well to overhaul Spurs.
Their starting XI is as good as any in the Barclays Premier
League, however following injuries to first choice full-backs Bacary Sagna and
Kieran Gibbs last season, their full back alternatives are incredibly weak. The
same goes for the centre half position as in reality neither Per Mertesacker
nor Johan Djourou are good enough.
Should the worst / predictable happen and Van Persie leaves the Emirates then the burden shall fall heavily on their £13million addition in Giroud. He and his former club Montpellier stunned Ligue 1 last season; however the Premier League is of a much stronger standard, so Gunners fans will be hoping he has more of the Thierry Henry about him then the Park Chu-Young.
Key player(s) – Arsenal have always been brilliant going
forward, but for me keeping their centre half duo of Laurent Koscielny and
Thomas Vermaelen fit is a real must. Together they form a brilliant
partnership, with the latter’s goal threat a brilliant bonus.
Verdict – 3rd Whether
they’ll have the strength in depth to challenge for the title is another thing;
however I do expect them to finish ahead of their London rivals in claiming
another Champions League spot.
View from a fan –
Culann Davies @CulannWDavies
What would be an
ideal season?
Ending the long trophy drought whilst finishing third in the league again
What would be an
awful season? Finishing outside the top four as well as trophy less
Have you got the
right manager? Definitely. What Arsene's done on such a smaller budget in
comparison to the rest of the league is unbelievable. Finally he’s allowed some
money this summer and it's told with brilliant additions.
Which other Premier League player would you like to sign?
Probably Vincent Kompany. Koscielny is class whilst Vermaelen has struggled for
form and fitness since his debut season.
Is Robin Van Persie
replaceable?
He is, but we need more than one player to do so!
Who should we keep an
eye out for this season?
Laurent Koscielny. He
was our second best player last season but largely unnoticed outside Arsenal,
worth keeping an eye on.
An added time Thomas Vermaelen winner saw Arsenal edge out a strong Newcastle side 2-1 at the Emirates last night.
The late winner meant Arsenal not only extended their lead over Chelsea, but closed the gap on their city rivals Tottenham to one point in the race for third.
Hatem Ben Arfa gave Newcastle an early lead; however Arsenal drew level barely a minute after, in the form of Robin Van Persie. With the game looking set to finish all square Vermaelen popped up to create a Premier League record for Arsenal, who have now come from behind to win their last four games, a feat never before achieved in the English top flight.
Arsenal made one change from their epic encounter with AC Milan, with Mikel Arteta returning to add a bit of flair to the Arsenal midfield, whilst Newcastle made two changes with Pape Cisse and Ryan Taylor replaced with Gabriel Obertain and Ben Arfa.
Newcastle opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute through the returning Ben Arfa. Cheick Tiote won the ball back in Arsenal’s half, after a poor Laurent Koscielny pass, who found Obertan, whose first time pass was clever and Ben Arfa, who cut inside Kieran Gibbs too easily, smashed home inside Wojciech Szczesny’s front post.
Literally seconds latter Arsenal levelled through their likeliest of sources. Walcott did well to engineer a brilliant cross, which Van Persie controlled exquisitely, in doing so taking Mike Williamson out of the game, and the Premier League’s leading scorer comfortably slotted past his Dutch counterpart Tim Krul to equalise.
Walcott, who looked dangerous in the early proceedings, came the closest to a third goal in the first half; however his shot was cleared of the line by Danny Simpson.
Half time came and went and Davide Santon, who was given the run around by the improving Walcott, didn’t come out for the second half, as the former Nottingham Forest man James Perch came on for the Italian.
Arsenal came out in the second half stronger and dominated possession as well as increasing their threat in the Newcastle half, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin, who wasn’t having the best of evenings, came close twice in quick succession.
Tomas Rosicky, who signed a contract extension with the club earlier in the day, was again fantastic and the Czech captain was behind Arsenal’s best moments in the early stages of the second half.
Gervinho, a second half replacement for Oxlade-Chamberlin, really should’ve given Arsenal the lead, only to screw wide with the goal at his mercy inside the six yard box.
With five minutes extra time announced, it looked like Arsenal were set to drop points, only for the rampaging Vermaelen to win it for the Gunners. With Newcastle in possession deep in the Arsenal half, Alan Pardew’s side should’ve seen the game out; however Arsenal broke in the shape of Alex Song, who found Walcott, and the England internationals cross feel perfectly for Vermaelen who beat Krul to ball and gave Arsenal the all important win.
The goal was harsh on Newcastle, who had defended brilliantly through out the game. Captain Fabricio Coloccini was again superb at the heart of Newcastle’s defence; however for a second successive Premier League game, Arsenal sealed the three points with an added time winner.
A huge defensive mix up gifted Birmingham the Carling Cup, as Obafemi Martins tapped in from close range to stun Arsenal.
Arsenal bottled it. They won't get a better chance to put an end to their six year wait to win a trophy. At 1-1 in the dying moments a colossal mix up between Laurent Koscielny who went to clear, however pulled out, and left an aimless Nicola Zigic header to Wojciech Szczesny, who failed to catch the header, leaving Martins to steal the Cup Final. Birmingham had originally taken the lead in the first half as Zigic rose highest to a Roger Johnson header. Arsenal’s stand in captain Robin Van Persie volleyed home superbly from an Andrey Arshavin cross. With Arsenal creating and wasting chances, mainly down to Ben Foster’s heroics in the Birmingham goal, the game looked to be heading for another 30 minutes, until Arsenal gifted sub Martins a late winner
.
Arsenal were lucky not to go down to ten men as Lee Bowyer was brought down by Szczesny in the penalty box, only to see the Birmingham midfielder flagged incorrectly for offside. The first real chance of note however fell to Arsene Wenger’s side as Samir Nasri collected a one-two from Van Persie, then found Arshavin with a great pass, only for the Russian to fire his effort straight at Foster’s legs.
Arsenal probably should have taken the lead when Johan Djourou got ahead of Johnson put completely mistimed his header. Arsenal were beginning to dominate, and Nasri again worked well to create a chance for himself, and instead of crossing decided to shoot but fired high and wide.
Against the run of play Birmingham then took the lead, after Johnson beat Koscielny to a Seb Larsson corner, and the big centre half’s header was helped on by Zigic who beat Szczesny to the ball, to give Alex McLeish’s side a surprise lead. Arsenal nearly levelled immediately as Van Persie met a Bacary Sagna cross, only to see his header go marginally wide.
Birmingham’s lead though only lasted 11 minutes as Van Persie volleyed around Martin Jiranek to equalise. A quick break-away led by the impressive Jack Wilshere, who found Van Persie, and as the move continued, the ball found itself to Wilshere again whose curling effort bounced back off the bar; Birmingham failed to clear and Arshavin crossed around Liam Ridgewell for Van Persie to expertly volley home. The Dutchman picked up an injury in the action that saw his side level the scores up at 1-1.
There was one last chance before half-time for Arsenal as Nasri’s long range effort was well saved by Foster, which was shortly followed by Mike Dean whistle which brought to an end an action packed first half.
Birmingham came out of the traps the quickest in the second half and were unlucky not to re-gain the lead after Keith Fahey, a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, saw his original shot blocked by own his own team-mate Zigic, with the rebound falling perfectly to the Irishman who struck a sweet shot which beat Szczesny in the Arsenal goal, only to bounce out of the post.
The tireless midfield duo of Barry Ferguson and Bowyer pressed and harried the Arsenal midfield all game long. And with Johnson in particular performing heroics at the back, despite clearly playing through the pain barrier, Arsenal failed to really create many clear cut chances. With the injury to Cesc Fabregas, the 19-year old Wilshere stepped up and was dominating the midfield with his clever movement.
Both sides made early changes in the second half with the quiet Craig Gardner coming off for Birmingham who was replaced by Jean Beausejour, with Van Persie coming off, clearly affected by the injury he picked up when scoring the goal, to be replaced by the Dane Nicklas Bendtner.
Nasri was becoming more and more effective as the game wore on and possibly should’ve passed, instead deciding to shoot, which was easily saved by Foster in the Birmingham goal. Gael Clichy does well to follow the run of the ageless Stephen Carr, and lead an Arsenal counter attack, which gives Nasri another chance, only to see his effort saved again by Foster.
The England keeper then made arguably his best save of the game, as Bendtner cut inside and his deflected shot was superbly caught by Foster, with Nasri lurking in the six-yard box for what would have been a simple tap-in.
Jiranek was caught in possession by sub Marouane Chamakh who found Wilshere with a tidy pass, whose touch was heavy and was lucky to find Tomas Rosicky who saw his back-heeled effort smothered by the man of the match Foster. Nasri then saw his fourth shot on target of the match brilliantly saved by Foster. McLeish made the vital substitution when he brought on ex-Newcastle man Martins on for the tireless Fahey.
Then came the game’s huge moment; A Foster free kick was lumped high, and flicked on by Zigic, only for Koscielny and Szczesny to make a meal out of the loose ball, giving sub Martins the easiest of winners.
With the goal coming so late in the game it gave Arsenal very little time to get a second equaliser, in fact Birmingham created the last couple of chances; firstly when Martins raced onto a long Ridgewell pass and his shot was saved by Szczesny who came miles out of his area to block the shot. The second chance fell to Martins again, who used his pace to beat Koscielny and then round Szczesny only to be crowded out by the Arsenal defence.
Not long after Dean brought an end to the game; which brought jubilant scenes with Birmingham players and fans alike. You could see the disappointment etched on the Arsenal players’ faces when they collected their losers’ medals, in complete contrast to the ecstasy show by the Birmingham players, in particular when the captain Carr lifted the Carling Cup.
Arsenal now have to pick themselves up from this disappointment as they’ve important games coming thick and fast; whereas Birmingham can celebrate the most unlikeliest of wins, in the knowledge they are out of the relegation zone with games in hand.
Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Michael Owen to get back into the England squad, and I agree with him, however the only way he can do is if he leaves Manchester United.
The two goals Owen scored in United's 3-0 victory over arch-rivals Leeds were clinical and brought back memories of the teenager which burst onto the scene at Anfield.
Since then however Owen has had to settle for a place on the Old Trafford bench, with the returning Danny Welbeck favoured ahead of hm in the 3-3 draw with Basel with Ferguson's favoured strike partnership of Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney recalled for the league game with Norwich. United's fantastic depth of strikers, with Dimitar Berbatov and Federico Macheda also struggling to get a look in, you feel Owen won't get many opportunities.
Owen's chances at United have been limited
With Euro 2012 qualification in England's hands, it represents the last chance for Owen to show he still has the international pedigree which brought him close to Sir Bobby Charlton's scoring record. Minus Wayne Rooney for me no centre forward is guaranteed a place in the squad, and with game time Owen has a genuine chance of making the tournament.
The cold facts don't lie however, the boy needs games. With the January transfer window looming, if I was Owen, I'd be knocking on the gaffers door requesting a six month loan spell.
There have been consistent rumours that Owen will join Everton, however the question isn't would he want to move there, its would he suit the Toffees? Owen has already shown he isn't afraid to join Liverpool's closest rivals, I mean he currently wears the red of Manchester United! However I can't see him spearheading a 4-5-1 formation, it wouldn't work.
Where else could he go, Sunderland? Stoke? Villa? Not for me.
Michael Owen has always been at clubs who thrive on their football reputation. You'd do well to find a CV of clubs that reads as well as Owen's: Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United.
And for me he deserves his place at a top side, his goal ratio is still fantastic. That's why Arsene Wenger should be taking a gamble on him. Earlier I said he wouldn't suit a 4-5-1 at Everton, however he would suit a 4-2-3-1 at Arsenal.
Robin Van Persie is a fantastic footballer, one thing he isn't is a lone striker. The Dutchman's best position is off a striker. His ability to drop deep when playing up front for Arsenal is as good as anyone in the Premiership. However this leaves a gap in the box to score the goals, and Arsenal haven't had an out and out goalscorer since Thierry Henry, and to a certain extent Emmanuel Adebayor.
Yeah it'd be a gamble, but Arsenal are in the worst position they've been in since Wenger took over. What's the worst that could happen with a six-month loan deal. If he doesn't score goals the club have other striking options. But you can't tell me Owen isn't a better goalscorer then Marouane Chamakh and the new signing Park?
Given a run of games Michael Owen will score any team goals, and at Arsenal he'd definitely get the chances to score and possible fire himself into Fabio Cappello's thoughts.
Who would you rather have baring on goal in a Euro 2012 quarter final match, Michael Owen or Peter Crouch? Exactly.
Arsene Wenger confirmed today that the club have signed Gervinho from French Champions Lille.
The transfer had always been on the cards when Wenger confirmed an interest in the Ivorian striker at the end of the season. Arsenal beat off reported interest from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the 24-year olds signature.
Wenger confirmed the deal this morning as Arsenal prepared for their tour of the Middle East saying "Gervinho has joined. He had a medical on Thursday. We sent him home for a couple of days because he has a family and children. He did not come [on tour] because he has not had a [training] session yet."
The signing is the clubs second addition of the transfer window after moving for Charlton's teenage defender Carl Jenkinson. Gervinho is the second of the Lille double winning side to move to the Premier League following Yohan Cabaye's move to Newcastle United.
Gervinho's move is expected to be in the region of £12million
